Instant Mango Pickle/Kalyana Manga Urukkai/Manga Urukai

Instant mango pickle is a savior on those days when you want something simple yet spicy and with a sharp note of tart to go with simple rice dish. M is a big fan of anything mangoish..yeah.. so this is also in his favorites list and I make them often in mango season. Though I have used the round pickle variety of mango here, the best for this pickle is the kili mooku mangai/Totapuri/Ko Mangai variety or the slightly sweet big mangoes with red tinted light green skin which tastes yumm! It stays well for a week and goes well with curd rice.

Ingredients:

Raw Mango-1, finely chopped

Red chili powder-1-1 & ½ tsp

Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

Roasted Fenugreek powder-3 pinches

Salt- as needed

To Temper:

Gingelly oil/til oil/Sesame oil-2 tbsp

Mustard seeds-1 tsp

Curry leaves-1 sprig

How It happened:

1. Wash and pat dry the raw mango and chop them fine and almost of same size.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves when they pop, switch off the flame and add chili powder, turmeric powder and fenugreek powder and salt and mix well.

3. Dump in the chopped mango and mix well. Switch on the flame and let it cook for 2 minutes until it turns slightly warm.

4. Switch off the flame, cover and rest for 1 hour.

5. Remove the lid, mix well and using a clean dry spoon store it in a dry, air-tight jar and stack in the fridge door where it stays well for a week.

6. Enjoy with curd rice.

Notes:

* The skin adds nice crunch and texture also as the pickle sits in the shelf the skin holds the shape so do not remove the skin just wash well and remove any dirt by wiping using a clean cloth.

* Gingelly oil adds a great flavor. Mustard oil can be used as well.

* Once when the tempering is popped, the flame is put off before adding the spices powders, so that the spice powders don’t get burnt.

* Dry roast a tsp of fenugreek or methi seeds until slight aroma rises, then pound them using mortar and pestle and use them. Do not burn them else they will turn bitter.

* After adding the mango to the pan, do not keep them in flame for long. They don’t have to be cooked or soft they just have to be warm so that they can stay a little longer in the shelf.